‘Honestly the second time this has happened to me’: Los Angeles woman buys Saint Laurent heels from The RealReal. Then she realizes they’re from Temu

A Los Angeles shopper is disappointed after learning that the Saint Laurent shoes she ordered from TheRealReal turn out to look like they’re from Temu.

TikTok creator Ashley Liz Cooper (@notashleylizcooper) posted a video with a rundown of how she determined she purchased a dupe.

“Great, so I just got scammed by The RealReal,” she says to start the video. “I ordered a pair of Saint Laurent shoes. And then when I went to try them on they did not fit at all. Which, literally, if I know one thing in this life, I know my size in a Saint Laurent shoe.”

Why Didn’t These Saint Laurent Shoes from The RealReal Fit?

That caused Cooper to take a closer look, and she wasn’t happy with what she found.

“The logo?” she says. “So I compared it with these from the store. And if you see, look how much thicker that is compared to that. So then I got really paranoid and started looking at it with my friends.”

That led her to examine the logo on the bottom of the shoe. “The T is going to the side,” she says. “So these are from Temu. And they were not Temu prices, they were RealReal prices. So I just got scammed.”

Cooper indicates she will seek a refund from the site. “This is honestly the second time this has happened to me,” she says. “This happened to me with the Louis Vuitton duffle I bought from them. But I thought I’d be safe with shoes. So I don’t know if they need to hire me to be an authenticator, because, honestly, this is [expletive].”

Should You Question Every The RealReal Purchase?

In the comments section of the video, viewers expressed empathy for Cooper’s situation and told her how they shop to avoid fake merchandise.

“Me questioning every RealReal purchase I’ve ever made,” one person wrote.

“Never use RealReal because it ain’t real,” said a second person.

A third person said, “I’m confused, because don’t they do authentication when they receive items from sellers?”

“They are CLASSIC for this,” another person wrote. “Good catch.”

Several people said they use different platforms, including Fashionphile, Vestiaire, and Rebag. And another person reminded Cooper that some credit card companies offer fraud protection on purchases like this. 

@notashleylizcooper I just got scammed by @The RealReal #TheRealReal ♬ original sound – ashley liz cooper

Doesn’t The RealReal Authenticate Its Luxury Items?

According to The RealReal, the company does have a luxury authentication and counterfeit protection process. Its “in-house specialists” examine certain brands as they come in and before they are sold. Items go through machines that track and flag commonly counterfeited items, take microscopic photos and compare them to photos of other items of the same brand, and detect specific metal alloy combinations in watches, jewelry, and other hardware.

This process still somehow allows counterfeit items onto the platform, as evidenced by this Forbes article published in 2019. According to the article, the issue is largely because not all items are flagged and therefore subject to the review of expert authenticators. The rest of the material is sorted by individuals with less training, known as copywriters. 

More recently, as described in this article by Business Insider, the company has used AI to help it make progress in this area. The article also notes that customers sued the company for allegedly overpromising on its ability to keep counterfeit items off of the site. That suit was settled in 2021.

The Mary Sue contacted Cooper and The RealReal via email for comment. 

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